Patriks Patina Porsche 912 – the version 2.0
“I will leave it like this. Do not want to be another one who stands in line and shines with the others. This one stands out and so it should be. ” Patrik Olsson’s words are clear and convincing. His Porsche 912 from 1967 is a hard core patina Porsche that creates attention, wherever he goes.
When the sun breaks through in the thin cloud cover, it is barely reflected in the chrome or in the rust-crisp rear fenders. What a car!
“The first time I saw it was when it arrived on the trailer to Stockholm. I immediately understood that this is not at all as the sales ad described it. ” Patrik explains to me when we stand in front of the car.
The 912 is an internet purchase from Belgium. The ad said a bit about some dents, some rust and that the engine should go around without problems. Patrik saw a lot of pictures and therefore did not ask for more, to see the condition. He bought it unseen, you could say.
Truth was different. The floor was more or less held together by the underbody mass or as Patrik explains it – it was possible to cut the floor with a butter knife -, the engine only went around a quarter of a turn and the car smelled of moisture and mold.
“I sent an email to the seller in Belgium. Explained what I thought about, me getting something totally different that I paid for. Quite expected, I still have not received any answer back, “says Patrik with a smile and strikes out with his hands.
He says that the first intention when he bought the car was to renovate it to mint condition. However, circumstances led Patrik to choose a new path.
For those who like to polish their car, this rolling piece of rust can be a nightmare bigger than anyone. There is hardly a stain larger than 10 x 10 cm in the paint that is co-colored. There is rust, sun bleaching, color changes and old damage all over the car. The only place that has cohesive color is the roof, the color is brown, rust brown.
Did not give up, stopped with fire
Instead of getting depressed by the fact that the car was not as he had hoped, Patrik’s incurable optimism forced him to immediately start fixing his new love.
The car was delivered on Christmas day 2017. A Christmas present for himself as he says. They together have since then managed to create a lot of history together.
In the spring of 2018, it was a persistent work to change the floor, remove the engine, fix the engine, brakes, lowering, tearing down the interior, building the interior, sewing the interior, looking for suitable parts. Yes, you know everything about car building.
Once the engine was in place again to be started for the first time, Patrik tried to start it a number of times, late on a Sunday evening in February.
After all the failed start attempts, with a definite thought, he said the classic comment to himself:
“One last time”
The carburetor overflowed and the engine ignited. A crack in the top caused the flames to erupt from the left side of the engine. There was also the makeshift gas can, which caught fire.
Patrik spends one night in hospital with second- and third-degree burns he received while moving the burning gas can. From experience, Patrik had placed the fire extinguisher right beside so the fire did not become so extensive.
What happened to the 912? A barely visible paint damage on the left rear fender and a discolored rear light, although who can see it today?
This personal Porsche slowly began to emerge
The engine was taken out, the top was replaced, the engine was put in and the brakes were properly fixed. After that, it was down to the Car Inspection after five months in the garage. The registration inspection needed to be done.
“Importing and inspecting a car for registration is not as complicated as everyone thinks. Especially not when it goes through the inspection without problems. ” says Patrik with a big smile.
From April and the months until the summer of 2018, Patrik began to beautify and personify the 912 according to the visions he had.
He replaced the Fuchs rims with the more racing-like Ronal Kleeblatt rims. The damp original chairs had to make room for a pair of Swedish hand-knocked 356 chairs in aluminum, purchased through Urban’s Garage. The Nardi steering wheel, which was part of a barter, fit directly into the stripped-down coupe. The original rearview mirror had to make room for Mr Talbot and the gear knob was bought at a flea market.
Slowly, a personal Porsche began to emerge from all the scarred small dents, rust bubbles and discolored paintwork.
The 912 was starting to take form, from a rusty internet purchase to a well-thought-through hard core patina Porsche with great possibilities.
“The goal was and is that it should look like it was found in a barn, full of racing history. It had been out and driving properly on all the world’s tracks before the owner put it in a barn and “forgot” about it. “
Filled with “racing history”
In 2019, Patrik filled the Porsche, so it got more “racing history” and a little sharper style.
“I found the rolling cage on Facebook Marketplace and it had been in a 911 from 1970. At first I thought it was a half cage but then when I realized that it was a whole cage, I thought: What could go wrong?”
Patrik got the cage home and it became an evening adult puzzle. Then it sat there. It is perfectly patinated for the car and it looks like it has been sitting there for a long time.
Furthermore, Patrik put on a pair of Hoosier 205s, patterned slicks, at the back instead of the 165s that sit there originally.
“I chimed them out around 5 mm to get a more wider look. Sure, the wheels touch the fender sometimes, but I think it should be like that. Then it’s more fun and has a nicer look.” says Patrik with a big smile.
Much in car renovation is a coincidence
“The black lip on the front of the car was a pure coincidence that I found in a persons barn from which I would buy Porsche seats.”
“On the floor of the barn, the lip was laying in two parts. I asked what he would have for it and got the answer: It is part of the deal, was about to throw them. A real barn find, you could say. ” says Patrik.
He took the parts home, plastered them together and then it became a front lip on the 912.
Coincidence also prevailed when he contacted Urbans Garage regarding the exhaust pipe.
Patrik was a bit divided about what he should have in the back, until Urban told them that they had a Sebring Exhaust Gas for a 356 lying on the shelf and got the comment: “It should fit”.
“It did. It was sitting fantastically beautiful and all of a sudden there was more style on the back than if I had driven with the usual double pipes. ”
The engine also got some love during 2019. The carburetors were replaced with a pair of Weber Idf40 with high funnels and Pipercross funnel socks, a switchless ignition system and the cylinders and pistons were changed from the original 82.5 mm to 86 mm.
It’s a lifestyle and passion
After the photo session, we sit in Patrik’s kitchen and are drinking coffee. His son Olle, 4 years old, proudly shows on his iPad that he plays a racing game. Patrick laughs.
Patrik tells how he and his sister, in the back seat, saw all the back roads that can be seen and driven in Sweden, through the window of an Austin A30.
His father and mother took the family around Sweden to car meetings, auctions and flee markets.
Right then, maybe it was not so fun all the time to sit unbelted in the back seat of a 28 horsepower car with 3 mm sheet metal and no crash beams. Hour after hour while the parents tried to figure out the way, by reading the map.
Apparently, however, Patrik did not take much damage from it, rather the opposite.
“Before I found the 912, I was sleepless thinking: Will I ever find my beautiful object? When I found and bought it, the thoughts changed at night to: What if I paid for something I do not get and what if everything is broken. Now I’m sleep deprived because I can not stop thinking about what to do with it. ”
“What you see with the 912 is the result of all the mistakes I have made and how I have tested various different solutions.”
It is noticeable that Patrik lives for his passion for cars and wants more all the time.
When I ask about the future of the 912, he smiles again says with a little pillamarically voice:
“Right now I have a 6-cylinder Porsche engine under renovation. There is an incredible amount to tell about it too, although we will have to take that story next time… ”
Follow Patrik och all his cars on Instagram
If you meet Patrik on the streets or car meetings, take the chance to get to know a car enthusiast who is really passionate about his hobby.
If you want to follow Patrik and his construction of the 912, screw in the account Matspatrik on Instagram.
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